Move over Franklin and Gandhi

My classes this morning were dealing with proverbs. We had to read examples of proverbs, one being from Benjamin Franklin and the other from Mohandas Gandhi. Frankin's was "When the well is dry we know the value of water." Gandhi wrote, "There is enough for everybody's need, but not for everybody's want."

We discussed their meanings, and how proverbs offer advice or warnings. By the end of the class we'd brain stormed ideas for what they could write proverbs about, done examples, and the students were given a chance to create their own proverbs.

I wasn't sure how well the students would grasp the idea. Not only can proverbs be abstract and difficult to obtain, but creative writing in English when it's not your native language isn't the first thing students want to do. My first class did a fantastic job though. These were my two favorites: Janelyn wrote, "Those who waste water will be afraid of the bill," and Jerson wrote, "Wasting water is like wasting rice."

Both are so very true...